The strawberry content of this spinach salad is doubled thanks to the addition of sliced, juicy strawberries as well as a sweet and tangy strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing.
Prepare yourself for the dish you look forward to eating most during this time of year: strawberry spinach salad. Oh yes. This leafy salad goes well with almost every course of the dinner. It consists of strawberries that are at their peak of ripeness, sliced red onions, chopped walnuts, and crumbled salty feta cheese. After that, the entire thing is doused in a salad dressing made of sweet and sour strawberry vinaigrette, which gives it the flavour of gold. Alex and I enjoy it most with pizza, but it also works well with salmon and pasta; in fact, it complements almost every dish!
Start with Perfectly Ripe Strawberries
It is imperative that you begin with ripe, red strawberries. Make us a promise that you will only cook this salad if you have ripe strawberries available to you during their season. The flavour is determined entirely by the freshness and sweetness of the berries used. Strawberries that are either too sour or too mealy, or that are out of season, just will not do. Try either our blueberry salad or our blackberry salad if you’re seeking to switch things up in terms of the type of berry used.
Double the Strawberry! Strawberry Salad Dressing
Our traditional strawberry salad dish is taken to a whole new level with the addition of this strawberry spinach salad. How? It includes sliced strawberries as well as strawberries in the salad dressing. This gives it a total of two servings of strawberries. I can guarantee that this strawberry vinaigrette will quickly become your go-to dressing for salads. It has a mildly sweet and sour flavour, is subtly sweetened with maple syrup, and is vibrant pink since it uses ripe and juicy strawberries. Even better, you only need five minutes to combine everything together! SO AWESOME.
How to make Strawberry Spinach Salad
This quick and easy strawberry spinach salad has been curated with each component in mind to deliver the most bang for its buck. After you have your perfectly ripe and gorgeous strawberries as well as your stunning and colourful strawberry salad dressing, you will need only a few additional things to complete the dish. In addition to the berries and the vinaigrette, you will need the following ingredients:
- Combination of spinach and other types of greens: Here’s a pro tip: salads made entirely of spinach may pack quite a punch in terms of flavour. How can we make it right? Include some leafy greens in the mix as well! There are five cups of spinach leaves and three cups of mixed greens in this strawberry spinach salad.
- Onions rouge tranchées: the flavour combination of strawberries and red onions is one that is highly recommended. The sweet and savoury crunch of the onion goes wonderfully with the tartness of the fruit. How can I cut them so that they look like the picture? Visit the page titled “How to Chop an Onion.”
- Pecans: Chopped pecans give the dish a satisfying crunch and provide an excellent textural contrast! Naturally, you may use whatever kind of nut you choose, such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or any other kind.
- Cheese crumbles: If you exclude the cheese from this strawberry spinach salad, you can simply make it vegan (plant-based). Nevertheless, crumbles of feta or goat cheese are ideal when looking to add a savoury and salty note to a dish.
How to Cut Strawberries For Salad
How should strawberries be chopped so that they look their best in a salad? Recently, a friend and I were preparing this dish together. She attempted to chop the strawberries in half lengthwise, but instead, they came out looking like little circles! Of course, if that’s the goal you want to achieve, then that’s fantastic! Nevertheless, here is how to cut them so that they look like the picture:
- Remove the strawberry’s hull (cut out the stem). At the base of the stem, in an angled position, place a paring knife that is very sharp. Cut the strawberry in a shallow slit, and then spin it around the knife as you cut it. This eliminates the need to cut the stem, as it does so automatically (more info here). If you are in the mood for laziness, simply chop the stem off of the greens as near as you can get to it.
- Slice them very thinly down the length. You may achieve the classic strawberry shape by cutting the strawberry into tiny slices lengthwise along its length.
- And with that, you now know how to prepare a salad with strawberries and spinach! If you do decide to give it a shot, please let us know in the comments section below. It would be unusual to come across someone who did not enjoy this one!
Ingredients
For the strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing (makes 1 ¼ cups total)
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the strawberry spinach salad
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 handful of thin sliced red onion
- 5 cups baby spinach leaves
- 3 cups mixed greens
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles (optional)
- ½ cup Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Instructions
- To make the dressing for the strawberry salad: With an immersion blender, mini blender or normal blender, mix all ingredients until smooth. (An immersion blender or a mini blender is the quickest method, but you may also use a conventional blender; simply blend for a few minutes until the ingredients are completely incorporated.)
- Make sure the following salad ingredients are ready: Remove the stems from the strawberries, and then cut them into thin slices lengthwise. Cut the red onion into thin slices (see the video for this method). In the event that it is required, wash the spinach and the mixed greens. Pecans should be chopped (if time, toast them to enhance the flavours).
- Serve: After arranging the greens on the plates and adding the other components, finish by drizzling the strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing over the top (about 2 tablespoons per serving). Save the remaining dressing in the refrigerator for up to one week.
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